Okay, this is for Bloodyredsilver, who I forgot when this user is born, but I know it's belated and I did promise a fic for this person. I also don't remember if it was a request or not, but here's what came up within three hours of typing, reading over, correcting and whatnot. I hope you enjoy this and whatnot.
Cave Demon
In a quiet of the overgrown forest, a young man of nineteen yawned as the morning rays found its way to his closed eyes.
"Na… Another beautiful morning." He said as he scratched his short yet full ebony hair that was windswept. "I wonder what adventure's I'll be in today?" He said as he opened to reveal dark chocolate eyes with a crescent scar under his left eye. He got up, grabbing a small bag, and walked even deeper into the forest. "Man I'm glad I took that dare, this is great!" He thought back to a few days ago when he first took the dare.
Flashback
"No way man! Only an idiot would do that!" Said a young man of twenty-one with blond hair said to another guy and the atmosphere was anything but casual.
"That's right! This isn't fair, not to mention breaking a lot of rules!" Said a teen of seventeen with short soft light brown hair with a pink hat.
"Well then our scores will remain even if you don't get someone to volunteer to do it." Said a man with a sadistic sneer.
"I don't recall this as being part of the course…" Said a woman of thirty with raven black hair that went down to her back.
"That's why it's called a decisive route, babe."
"Never call me that." She said with a deadly yet calm tone.
Luffy came around by that time and saw his friends talking with the rival team.
He and his friends have been invited to undergo a competition of some sort, and now they were tied with another team. The thing was that the rival team has been accused of cheating and dirty playing, but no one can prove it and now the teams have to figure out a new course that both teams can agree and send in their final teammates to go through.
"Hey guys! What's going on?" He asked.
"This shit head wants to do a course that will get us into deep shit."
"It's just a survival thing in the woods. Only a three day thing."
"A lot can happen within five hours in those woods!" Said a girl with orange-ginger hair that went pass her shoulders.
"I can do it." Luffy said suddenly, causing both teams to look at him.
"Luffy…" Some said as the other team laughed.
"That settles it! You got a volunteer! And it's your team leader."
"Luffy! We can't let you do this!" The orange-ginger haired girl said.
"Nami, I'll be okay. It's only three days."
"But Luffy…" The light brown haired boy said, looking worried.
"Guys, how long have you guys know me?" He said as everyone had the look of understanding.
"This won't be like the other courses…" The blond said.
"So? Bring it on. I'm always up for something different anyway."
End of Flashback
"And this is day two, so I must be getting close to that mystery cave thing." He said with and excited smile. "I can't wait to meet this demon!" He said as he remembered from hours before he set out to the tie breaking course.
Flashback
"It's not often we get a requested course to break the tie of two teams." Said the competition overseer. "And usually we don't want to endanger our competitors, but if both leaders are willing to do this, then there's something you must know of the course both of you agreed to…"
Both Luffy and Bellamany were waiting by the starting paths when the overseer told them about the legend of the area they were about to enter.
"This ground was once a demon domain. Legends have it that many demons in this area were either perished or moved away from this forest. But there remains one demon, asleep in the cave both of you agreed to go to. Many travelers, both in professional fields and common folk have went up to this forest, but many don't make it back. And for those who do come back often tell of horrific tales of what they have witnessed."
"Can we go already?" Bellamany said, not at all moved by the warning.
"So there might be that demon there?" Luffy asked, getting excited.
"Of course not, you idiot! That's only some stupid myth to get people from not trashing the place!"
"I'm still gonna see if there's a demon." Luffy said with a smile, and with that they headed down their own path with a map in their hands.
End of Flashback
"I wonder what this demon looks like?" Luffy asked as he climbed up a steep hill that would lead him to the opening of the cave.
Once there, he saw that the inside of the cave was dark and he dug out a glow stick and entered the cave with the bright, fluorescent green light. The cave was cold, but that didn't really register to him as he looked at the sharp cave rocks. The bright green glow of his glow stick would give off an eerie visual on the rocks, but this didn't bother him as he continued with innocent fascination.
XxX
After awhile he gotten a bit bored with the rocks and the cave itself. "Man… This is boring…" He said, not realizing how quiet it was until he spoke, which caused an echo. Needless to say, he liked the echoes as he sang some off note songs before he felt a rumble, followed what sounded like a groan. "Whoa…" He said softly as he waited until the place stopped rumbling and headed to where he heard the sound. 'Doesn't sound like a bear.'
He ran until he saw that the tunnel was blocked by rocks. 'A cave in?' He thought as he remembered his rival team leader. 'I hope he isn't in there. Then again this was his idea…' He turned around and started to head back to where he was before hearing something from another tunnel he didn't notice before. "Na? Where does this go?" He walked in and felt the cave rumble and the way was blocked by rocks. "Nani! Now I'm trapped!" He pouted. "Well! It's not like there's no way out or anything!" He said with a nod and walked down the tunnel. "Whoever made these tunnels have to be mindful about having more than one exit."
He continued to walk down the tunnel until he felt hungry. "Man… Nami told me not to eat all my sandwiches, but I did…" He said as he looked through his bag. "I'm sure they've packed something else in here…" He rummaged through the bag until he found an apple. "Yosha! Apple to the rescue!" He said as he was about to take a bite when he saw something in the shadows. He lifted the glow stick a bit and saw what looked to be human before running deeper into the dark. "Oi! Wait!" He called as he ran after it.
He kept the light in front of him, just in case he gets a glimpse of who else was down in the tunnel with him. 'It's definitely not Bellamany…' He thought as he saw it turn the corner of the tunnel and when he did, he saw three pathways. 'Where did it go?' He looked at three different tunnels. "Whoever it was is really fast." He said as a thought came to mind. "Could it be… the demon?" He was deciding which tunnel he would go to before he looked at the apple that was still in his hand and placed it on the ground.
"I'm going into one of the tunnels now! If you end up coming here again, I left you the apple I was gonna eat. I know it's not much, but I bet you're kinda hungry!" He said as he picked the middle tunnel.
After a long time of walking, Luffy sat down on the ground and leaned back against the wall of the tunnel. "Ah! This tunnel is never gonna end! I've must've been walking down here for hours!" He whined as he grabbed his bag and dug through it. 'I wonder if the demon got the apple I left?' He thought as he took out a bag of star shaped candies. 'I wonder if it even likes sweets?' He grabbed one and popped it in his mouth and placed the rest back in his bag and decided that it was time for a nap.
XxX
When he woke up, he was on something warm and closed his eyes again from how bright it was. He opened his eyes again and looked around to see that he was somewhere he wasn't sure of. "What the heck?" He said as he got up when he saw something roll his way.
He saw that it was the apple he left for the demon, only there was a bite out of it.
"Who are you?"
He looked around and saw green eyes in the shadows. "I'm Luffy… Monkey D. Luffy…"
"Luffy, huh?"
He nodded. "And you are?" He asked as he saw the eyes disappear and he looked around to see if he can catch a glimpse of the voice.
"Many call me a demon…"
Luffy looked but couldn't find a source. "Even demons have names, right?"
"True, otherwise you wouldn't know how to kill them."
"Eh? Kill?"
"Isn't that why you're here? Or is it to discover me and treat me like a display case?"
"None. I'm just here because there's this course to break the tie for mine and another's team. Something about surviving the forest, go into the cave, and come back within three days."
"So you're just an idiot hiker."
"Oi! That's just rude!" He called, making the voice chuckle.
"But I have to admit… After all these years, you're the first to give me something."
Luffy looked and picked up the apple. "The apple? Did you like it?"
"It was okay, but I'm used to eating whatever comes to my domain."
"You eat humans?"
"No, which is good news for you, I assume?"
"I know you're not the human eating demon. But then what do you eat?"
"Wandering animals."
"Oh… So… what do you do with the humans?"
"Depending how long they survive, either kill them or drive them insane. Mostly I don't do a thing and they end up doing the killing themselves. Then I have to clean up their mess."
"So it's people who can't handle the dark that well?"
"You could say that."
Luffy hummed as he took a bite of the apple. "So, what are you called then? You didn't answer that." He said as he heard the other chuckle.
"You're pretty persistent. Aren't you even an ounce afraid that if you knew who I am, you wouldn't be able to leave here?"
"Hmm… That'll be a problem, because I have a lot of friends that were afraid I would get lost or hurt when I agreed to do this. Oh! There was another guy doing the course, you know if he came in or not?"
"I've seen him. He's going insane as we speak. Apparently my fun with him caused him to have a phobia of the dark and the slightest sound being made."
"And the cave in?"
"There's another exit for him… If he can get pass his own fear."
"Well, this course was his idea. So it's karma that got him into that situation."
"You're truly a strange human."
"Thanks."
"That wasn't really a compliment…"
Luffy giggled as he finished the apple. "So, where am I? Did you bring me here?"
"This is where I sleep, and yes."
"You got a cool sleeping place."
"It's something."
"But why bring me here?"
"I don't know…"
"Ah! You still haven't told me who you are! You kept asking me a different question to avoid that!"
With that the demon laughed. "Is it wrong for a demon to know his possible visitor?"
"No… Not that there's any rule about it. And no changing the subject!"
"Very well…"
Luffy heard footsteps and looked to see a form of a man come out from the shadows. He saw that the man looked no more than twenty-one with short, combed back light green hair, a scar on his left eye that looked like a seal to keep that eye closed, a visible green eye, a body built for strength, but a good balance of agility as well. He wore a feudal era kimono that has been torn so that the chest showed a diagonal scar from the left shoulder down to the right hip, and three katanas at his right side.
"Do I appear human to you?"
"I've heard that there are demons that can appear human."
The man grinned as a powerful aura manifested around him, creating two extra heads on each side and four pairs of arms.
Luffy stood there, dumbfounded when he saw the form.
"I was called Asura because of this form. And I am from that demon line." He said as the aura subsided, along with the extra heads and arms. "Afraid?"
Luffy blinked as he smiled and stars appeared in his eyes. "Sugoui!" He said as he looked like an excited puppy. "That's so cool! That's so cool!" He chanted, making the demon looked dumbfounded.
"This is a first… The last few times I did that, the person practically shit themselves."
"But I've always wanted to see a demon, and I'm absolutely sure that you're the coolest demon ever!"
"You've proved me right again. You're a strange human being." He said as he shook his head. "Now… That you've seen me in both forms, what to do with you?"
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"It's a thing most of us have to be wary of. For one thing, we can't always trust humans to keep secrets. No offense, but your race is the worst when it comes to secrets. Many demons who trusted humans ended up being stabbed in the back later on."
"That's awful." He said as he sat on the ground. "Well, I can understand if you're going to keep me here, but there's going to be a search and rescue things. But then you would have to kill me before anyone gets near this place, right?"
"As if they can find this place."
"What do you mean?"
"Many years ago, I once, out of a rare display of humility, spared a priest's life and in return placed a spell in this very cave so that I have a place to retreat when I need to rest and recover."
"Sounds like he's a good guy."
"You would think, but as it turns out it was also a prison so that I would not cause chaos any longer."
"Now that's not nice."
"Believe me, I wanted to tear him limb from limb when I found out. But then he came back… He was half dead."
"What happened to him?"
"Turns out there was an eradication of demons in this area. If he hadn't trapped me here, I would've died along with all the other demons in this area."
"He saved your life."
"A life for a life." He said as he sighed. "You look just like him."
Luffy pointed to himself.
He nodded. "Yeah. When I first saw you earlier, I actually thought I was seeing a ghost or something. But you're just a present day moron who wandered into my domain because of some dumbass dare. But because you look like him is probably my only reason why I didn't kill you or leave to drive yourself insane in those tunnels."
"Sounds like you two could've been friends."
"As if."
"Why not? He obviously cared about you, even though it was a misunderstanding at first."
The demon looked at the teen before going up a bit closer so that he was only five steps away from being in front of the human. "I do owe him my survival of the wipe out, but that was many years ago. And he is long dead."
"Did you bury him?"
"It wouldn't be right for me to keep a corpse around. Once I knew that I was safe to venture out, I took his body to the surviving town where they did the proper ritual and he was buried a priestly burial."
Luffy smiled. "You're a good guy… Asura?"
The demon looked at the teen and sighed. "That's the demon lineage I'm from, but I was given a name by that priest."
"What is it?"
"Zoro… Roronoa Zoro."
"That's an unusual name. It's really cool though."
"I had the same thought. Being it unusual I mean. He told me that he had been and met with a lot of different people with different languages. He had even went far as to contact the spirit world and converse with the dead. Apparently he found some words that he liked and created a name for me."
"He did a good job."
"I guess… It's the only gift he'd given me besides my life. I never really given him anything in return."
"He had your trust in him. Gaining a demon's trust isn't easy it seems."
"It's rare. But yes, even after I wanted to kill him, a part of me believed that he didn't betray me, but keeping me away from something. I felt really guilty when he died in my arms after he released the sealing spell…" He looked away from the teen. "You and him are so much alike… just looking at you just brings back memories that are becoming clear once more."
"Do I really look like him?"
"He was a bit older than you in human years, but you two could've been twins for all I know.."
"Really?"
"Yeah… he was an idiot as well. But he had a good heart… Even with the priests at the time, I've never encountered a heart like his… Until now that is."
"Why's that?"
"Too much innocence and belief of more good in many than what most would assume."
"Really? You sure? Because I've fought some guys in the past before."
"Did they deserve it?"
"Well… yeah, but I still got in trouble."
"If you harm those who deserve it, then it doesn't matter what society believes. He taught me that as well."
Luffy felt a yawn coming up and shook his head.
"Tired?"
"I guess so… I wonder how long I've been down here. I'm suppose to get back to the camp by the end of the third day. But I guess that's not going to happen, huh? As you said so yourself."
The man looked at the teen before turning away. "I'm going to find something to eat, you stay here and sleep."
"Okay… Zoro?"
"Hm?"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For keeping me safe and trusting me with a bit of your past." He said as he laid down on the warm ground and fell to a peaceful slumber.
Zoro watched the human teen fall into a deep slumber before leaning up against the wall of his domain, looking decisive.
XxX
When Luffy woke up, he saw that he was at the infirmary of the camp base. "Huh? Did Zoro?"
"Luffy!"
He turned to look, only to be tackled by Chopper.
"Don't scare us like that again!"
"Chopper?"
"Luffy!" Nami called out as she hugged him. "You idiot! Don't you dare scare us like that again!"
"Nami?"
The two let him go to see a confused look on his face.
"What's wrong you guys?"
"We were worried sick! That's what!"
Robin appeared and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Bellamany came back a day ago, but he was completely out of it and we were worried that we would never see you again."
"Bellamany's here? Does that mean we lost?"
"Nope, we won." Sanji said as he walked out. "He shouted that we won, packed his bags and got the hell out of here. But it looks like you're still sane."
"So! Did you get to see a demon?"
Luffy blinked as he looked down at Chopper. "Nope…" He lied. "It was just a boring dark cave."
"I'm surprised you even survived." Nami said. "Then again, if it wasn't for that guy, you would probably be stuck in that cave."
"A guy?"
"Yeah. Some kind of lost hiker that was setting up camp in the cave when Bellamany ran out, screaming like a little bitch, and went in to see if there was anyone else in the cave." Sanji filled in as the door opened to reveal a man that the teen has come to know as Zoro, wearing a modern day hiking outfit.
"So you're awake." Zoro said as he went up. "How you feeling?"
"Pretty good…" Luffy said as he watched as Zoro acted like they've never met.
"You still seem a bit out of it, but at least you weren't screaming bloody murder in my ears like that one bastard did when he pushed me." He said as he looked at everyone. "I guess I'll see you around then. Thanks for helping me out earlier."
"It is us who should thank you, Roronoa-san." Robin said with a motherly smile. "Luffy happens to be important to all of us."
"I can tell." He said as he looked at the teen. "You got good friends here, kid. Don't give them another heart attack, alright?"
"Right…" Luffy said with a smile. "It's nice to meet you."
"Same here." He said as he headed out.
"You going back out into the forest?" Nami asked, gaining Luffy's attention.
"It's kinda my job." He said as he waved. "Take it easy now, Luffy."
"You too!" Luffy called out as he watched the other go. 'Zoro…'
"He was nice, but kinda scary…" Chopper said.
"He's not scary." Luffy said with a smile.
Nami saw that and grinned. "You like him, Luffy?"
"Eh?"
"We do have a couple more days before we head home. Maybe you can get his number or something?"
Luffy was about to say something when his stomach answered its needs. "I'm hungry…"
A few laughed at this.
XxX
The next day, Luffy took up on Nami's suggestion and went up to the cave, which he found a quicker route to get to.
"Zoro! It's me, Luffy!" He called out as he walked into the cave, but the other was there before he reached into full darkness. "Zoro!"
"You came back?"
"Yeah, something wrong with that?"
"I just don't understand why you would do that."
Luffy smiled. "Because we're friends now."
"Friends?"
"Yeah."
Zoro stared at the other before he sighed. "The ghost of the past has come to haunt me once again."
"Eh?"
"The priest said something like that, after he sealed me. I asked him why he did that. He said that because we're friends, and friends protect one another."
"And he's right." Luffy said as he held out his hand. "Let's make a promise!"
"A promise?"
Luffy nodded. "I promise that I'll come and visit Zoro as often as I humanly can!"
"That's not reassuring."
"It's a start for me. And I live in a city, so what else can I do?"
"I guess…" Zoro said as he looked at the teen. "I'll also make a promise, but we don't shake hands."
"Oh? Then how do you promise?"
Zoro went up to the other to the point where their noses almost touch. "I, Roronoa Zoro, vow to Monkey D. Luffy, that I will remain loyal and true to thee as thee has been to thou." He whispered before softly placing his lips over the other's, who was a bit shocked to say the least, but didn't fight or back away.
When they parted, Luffy looked a bit lost as he looked up at the other for some confirmation.
"When a human makes a promise, there's a possibility that the promise can be broken or forgotten. But when a demon makes a promise, it's almost as final as the final moments of death. Only with either or both our deaths will my promise to you break."
"That's pretty hardcore."
Zoro grinned. "What's been done is done. Do you regret it?"
Luffy childishly glared. "Now that's probably the stupidest question you've asked me yet."
With this the demon laughed. "I feel that this will be a long friendship indeed."
Luffy smiled. "You bet!"
XxX
And it was a long friendship, but Luffy was a mortal whereas Zoro was a demon who lived hundreds of years. When time started to get closer to the end, Luffy went up to the cave once more.
Luffy was not an old man, only in his mid thirties, but the doctors told him that he would soon die of a disease that will claim him soon. Although this shocked everyone he knows and loved, he somehow felt that this would happen. His uncle had the disease, and it was a rare trait to begin with, he just happen to have it. He never married or had children, but was claimed as an uncle to his friends who have families of their own. If anyone were to ask him about how he was holding up with the idea of death, he would simply smile and said that he was never afraid of it to begin with. He still wasn't afraid.
He appeared before Zoro once again, and the demon knew what the other came here for. He led his mortal friend to his domain where they shared many words about the mortal world, the past, and confessions. It was also a place where both experienced each other's bodies intimately. He never regretted anything that happened in the domain, neither did the other.
"Are you sure about this?" Zoro asked, knowing that the other had his final thoughts about this for the longest time now.
"Yes." Luffy said as he stripped himself off of his clothing and entered the circle with faded magical symbols that have always been there since the demon's releasement and laid in the center of the circle.
Zoro, holding a scroll, opened the rolled up parchment before chanting a spell that was foreign to him, but saw the symbols glow once more as faint light surrounded Luffy as he fell into a deep sleep. He finished chanting and looked to see the other, and sighed. "It will take a hundred years, but I've waited far longer for you to return. Priest Luffy." He said as he smiled. "When you wake up, you will be the same as me. And I will be set free… Just like you have promised on that day when you slipped away from me as you died. But now, sleep. I shall be here when you wake."
I dont' think this was my best ones, but I am starting to wear out a bit and I'm actually getting back to the groove of writing again. Sorry for many of you who have to wait, and I thank you for your patience. Well, I hoped you liked it either way and see you next time.